Clean Water Access.

Bareholes, filtration and hygiene training in districts where the nearest safe source is more than thirty minutes walk. Built by crews from the community itself, than maintained on our funding for at least five years after handover.

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1
0
1
8
9
0
0
+

Wells built or restored

2
4
5
0
K

Litres of safe water delivered daily

7
8
9
6
%

Still operational at the five year mark

&
3
1
4
5
6
7
8
0

Average cost of one borehole

THe Problem

The Walk Is The Whole Problem.

In the districts where we work, 96% of households had no safe water within thirty minutes' walk before we arrived. The distance itself is what does the damage, and it compounds in ways that are easy to miss from a distance.

A four-hour round trip is a working day gone. It falls almost entirely to women and girls, which means girls stop attending school long before anyone formally withdraws them. The water they carried back is often unsafe anyway, so the illness it causes takes out more days again. Families end up spending on medicine what they can't spend on school fees.

None of this is solved by drilling a hole and leaving. Roughly a third of handpumps across sub-Saharan Africa are non-functional at any given time—not because the engineering is hard, but because nobody funded the repairs. That's the part we built the program around.

A well that breaks in year three was never help. It was a photograph.

Nadia Rahim, Founder

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Our Approach

Stopped Sending Contractors

After two projects failed within a year of handover, we changed how we build. Every site since has been drilled and assembled by a crew recruited and trained from the community that will use it.

It costs slightly more upfront and takes about three weeks longer. In exchange, the money stays in the village, the people who built it know how to repair it, and nothing waits on us flying someone in.

The five-year maintenance fund is the other half. Local technicians stay on our payroll with quarterly checks, and every check is published.

What it Costs

Anatomy Of A $3,180 Borehole.

Averaged across the 47 wells completed in 2025. Individual sites vary by depth and ground conditions where one comes in over, the difference and the reason go in the next quarterly report.

Geological survey

Two independent surveys before any drilling starts. We added the second one after Nsanje.

$310

Geological survey

Two independent surveys before any drilling starts. We added the second one after Nsanje.

$310

Drilling

Rig hire, fuel casiing and gravel pack. Average depth across 2025 sites was 43 meters

$1,240

Drilling

Rig hire, fuel casiing and gravel pack. Average depth across 2025 sites was 43 meters

$1,240

Pump and headworks

India MarkII handpump, apron, drainage channel and cattle trough.

$640

Pump and headworks

India MarkII handpump, apron, drainage channel and cattle trough.

$640

Local crew wages

Six to nine people for three to four weeks, paid at above the district daily rate.

$430

Local crew wages

Six to nine people for three to four weeks, paid at above the district daily rate.

$430

Water quality testing

Pre- and post-completion testing, then annually for the first five years.

$95

Water quality testing

Pre- and post-completion testing, then annually for the first five years.

$95

Hygiene training

Two sessions for the households using the site, run by a local health worker.

$120

Hygiene training

Two sessions for the households using the site, run by a local health worker.

$120

Five-year maintenance fund

Technician retainer, spare parts and quaterly inspections. Ring-fenced and non-transferable

$345

Five-year maintenance fund

Technician retainer, spare parts and quaterly inspections. Ring-fenced and non-transferable

$345
One Cmplete borehole

Serves approximately 400 people

$3,180
How We Work

We Handle Everything For You.

We don't parachute in and leave. Every project runs through the same four stages assessment, build, verification, and long-term upkeep — so nothing we fund quietly breaks after we've gone.

It's not just about handing over a well. It's about making sure it still works in ten years.

1
Assess

We survey with local health workers and district officials to confirm the need is real and unmet, not duplicated by another agency.

1
Assess

We survey with local health workers and district officials to confirm the need is real and unmet, not duplicated by another agency.

2
Build & Deliver

Our teams do the work directly with community labour, so money stays in the village and people know how to fix what we install.

2
Build & Deliver

Our teams do the work directly with community labour, so money stays in the village and people know how to fix what we install.

3
Verify

Every completed project is independently audited and geotagged. Photos, dates, and costs published not summarized.

3
Verify

Every completed project is independently audited and geotagged. Photos, dates, and costs published not summarized.

4
Ongoing Support

Local maintenance teams stay funded for five years minimum, with quarterly checks reported back to donors.

4
Ongoing Support

Local maintenance teams stay funded for five years minimum, with quarterly checks reported back to donors.

Related Updates

What Happened Recently.

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Almswell

See Exactly Where Your Money Goes. Give Today. Track It Tomorrow.

4.82% — administrative overhead. The rest goes to the field.

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H
Almswell

See Exactly Where Your Money Goes. Give Today. Track It Tomorrow.

4.82% — administrative overhead. The rest goes to the field.

Image
Icon
H
Almswell

See Exactly Where Your Money Goes. Give Today. Track It Tomorrow.

4.82% — administrative overhead. The rest goes to the field.

Image
Icon
H
Almswell

See Exactly Where Your Money Goes. Give Today. Track It Tomorrow.

4.82% — administrative overhead. The rest goes to the field.

Image
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Almswell funds water, education, and income projects in twelve countries and publishes exactly what each one cost. Registered non-profit, Reg. No. 000-0000.

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© 2026 Almswell. All rights reserved.

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Almswell funds water, education, and income projects in twelve countries and publishes exactly what each one cost. Registered non-profit, Reg. No. 000-0000.

Icon

© 2026 Almswell. All rights reserved.

Icon
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Logo

Almswell funds water, education, and income projects in twelve countries and publishes exactly what each one cost. Registered non-profit, Reg. No. 000-0000.

Icon

© 2026 Almswell. All rights reserved.

Icon
Icon
Icon
Icon
Logo

Almswell funds water, education, and income projects in twelve countries and publishes exactly what each one cost. Registered non-profit, Reg. No. 000-0000.

Icon

© 2026 Almswell. All rights reserved.

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